Jesus commissioned His disciples to continue His work of making disciples before He ascended into heaven. These disciples became the first leaders of the church. However, according to church tradition all but one of these disciples had his life cut short. Peter, the first overall leaders of the church, was crucified upside down in Rome by the Emperor Nero. Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, was also killed by Nero. Thomas was speared through in India. Matthew was stabbed in Ethiopia. James the son of Alphaeus was clubbed to death. Every one of Jesus’ disciples except for John was killed for the sake of Jesus. This presents a problem, though: Who would lead the church if all of Jesus’ original followers were gone? Who would pass on the teachings of Jesus to the next generation of Christians?